I am the Deputy Sports Editor at City A.M. I previously worked as John Grogan MP's Parliamentary Researcher/Office Manager/Press and Communications Officer between 2005 and 2010 in one of the most marginal seats in the country. E-mail: ross.mclean@cityam.com

Follow Ross

Ross McLean

MOTORSPORT chiefs have reiterated calls for stronger and more effective cost cutting measures after two Formula One teams were forced to enter administration.

Marussia this week became the latest F1 team to endure financial decline and face a bleak future, following in the footsteps of Caterham who suffered a similar fate only days earlier.

The sport’s governing body, the FIA, were forced to abandon plans for a cost cap from 2015 after the six teams on F1’s strategy group dismissed the plan, and insist the question of economic imbalance within F1 remains.

“Looking beyond the 2014 season, these failings once again acutely raise the question of the economic balance of the FIA Formula One Championship,” read an FIA statement.“It justifies the position, expressed many times by the FIA, in favour of any initiative that will help reduce costs in order to ensure the survival of the existing grid or attract potential new entrants.”

The fiscal collapse of Marussia and Caterham means both will be missing from from this weekend’s United States grand prix, with just 18 cars taking the grid in Austin.

With Mercedes securing the constructors’ championship in Sochi, the sole focus falls on the drivers’ title race with Britain’s Lewis Hamilton bidding to strengthen his grip at the top of the leaderboard. The 29-year-old holds a 17-point lead over team-mate Nico Rosberg at the summit while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo remains in mathematical contention.

The title looks set to go down the wire and the final race in Abu Dhabi where double points are up for grabs for the winner.